| Understand the core principle before picking a strategy |
Overview |
Use this guide before any code-reading task — before the first Read or Grep call — to pick the strategy that matches the task type instead of applying a blanket "save tokens" rule. |
| Fix a known bug or edit a known symbol |
Type A — Targeted Edits |
Use when you already know what symbol you're changing and the scope is bounded to one or two files. Bug fix, rename, small feature edit. |
| Document, audit, or review a module/package |
Type B — Comprehensive Understanding |
Use when the task requires understanding a whole unit — a module, package, library, or feature area. Documentation authoring, security/code review, architecture analysis, onboarding, multi-file refactoring. |
| Explore a large unfamiliar codebase |
Type C — Large Exploration |
Use when the task is open-ended, you don't know the structure yet, or a full Type B read would exceed ~30% of remaining context. Use Type B when the unit is bounded enough for main context. |
| Know what full reads catch that grep misses |
What Grep Misses |
Use when you're tempted to grep-first for a Type B task "to save tokens." This list explains what you'll miss and why that's fatal to documentation or audit accuracy. |
| Interpret a harness token-usage warning |
Token Warning Interpretation |
Use when the harness emits a warning like "Read results using 881.4k tokens (88%) → save ~264.4k" and you're unsure whether to change your reading strategy. |
| Verify a Type B task is actually complete |
Pre-Completion Checklist |
Use before declaring a Type B task complete — documentation finished, audit signed off, review approved. If any item was skipped because of context-saving instincts, the work is incomplete. |
| Look up the right strategy for a specific task quickly |
Quick Reference |
Use when you need the one-line answer for a specific task without reading the full guidance. |